The invention relates generally to systems and methods for editing and composing motion picture material, and more particularly to operations on transitions between scenes in such material.
In assembling individual motion picture (i.e., film or video) scenes into larger compositions, the scenes are linked together by transitions. Most transitions are simple cuts, but a significant number are other forms of gradual transitions. These include dissolves (or cross-fades), wipes, and various specialized transitions such as blends rotations and peels.
In a dissolve, a first scene is gradually dimmed while a second scene is gradually brightened, so that the viewer sees the transition as a continuous shift from the first scene to the second scene. During all of the types of gradual transition effect, as the term is to be understood in the context of this application, the first scene and second are both visible to some extent at the same time. For example, in a wipe, part of the second scene is displayed in a portion of the first scene, and this portion is gradually made larger until the second scene occupies the entire display area.
Preparing gradual transitions using 35mm motion picture film is generally performed by specialized laboratories. 16mm transitions are prepared using a technique called A-B rolling, in which two prints of the film are prepared with alternating scenes and then combined to yield the gradual transitions. Both of these techniques usually require the film to be conveyed to a processing laboratory in order to generate the transition in final form.
Video editing and composition systems also allow for the creation of transitions. In these systems, it is known to specify a gradual transition by its centerpoint. By centerpoint is meant the point in time within the transition half way between the beginning and end of the transition. The editor manipulates the transition much like a cut, but upon playback, the transition begins before the centerpoint, and ends after the centerpoint. The user may also manually generate the transition using an effects bar control, which is a control lever that often resembles a joystick. This allows the user to control the rate at which the transition takes place. These manually-generated transition profiles may also be stored.
It is also known to display a series of independent monitors with the material from the first scene above a second series of independent monitors with the material from the second scene. In the top row, each monitor shows a successive frame of the first scene, and in the bottom row, each monitor shows a corresponding successive frame of the second scene. This system may allow the user to view several frames from each scene in a transition simultaneously. The Montage Picture Processor system, available from Montage RandD Corp. of Littleton, Mass., uses this approach.
In general, the invention pertains to a transition editing method for creating a transition between a first sequence of video frames and a second sequence of video frames. The method includes storing a table of values that express a non-linear response to certain levels of light, generating a transition between the sequences, and adjusting the intensity at which material of the first sequence is displayed relative to the intensity at which material of the second sequence is displayed within the transition, based on the values stored in the step of storing.
In another general aspect, the invention pertains to the editing of transitions between sequences of video frames. This includes simultaneously displaying the frames in the first and second sequences at the beginning of the transition, and the frames in the first and second sequences at the end of the transition. The position of two of the four frames may then be altered in their respective sequence to redefine the transition in response to move commands. The rate of change within the transition may also correspond to a predefined film characteristic.
The transition editing method of the invention allows for efficient, versatile and precise editing of motion picture source material. Because the first and last frames of the two scenes in the transition are both shown, it is easy for the user to see material that is not intended to be part of the transition. Such material may include booms, slates, microphones and the like. These unintended events might otherwise be hard to see, especially at the edges of the transitions where one of the scenes may be quite dim. The controls and displays of the invention are also meaningfully and efficiently laid out. The film-matching transition feature of the invention allows an editor to edit video tape using transitions that are similar to film transitions, to achieve a more film-like effect on a video copy. This enables the user to accurately preview material on the computer that is ultimately to be printed on film, without the cost and delay of laboratory work. Alternatively, the user can experiment with different types of transition characteristics, to achieve desired aesthetic effects.